Riding the wave using a surf board or other flotation device has been popular among many water sport enthusiasts for ages. However, more recently, a variation of surf boarding known as stand up paddle surfing or stand up paddle boarding (SUP) has gained in popularity among water sport aficionados' due to its ease of use in riding waves and navigating longer distances on the water surface as compared to the traditional surf boards. Whereas, the surf board can be ridden in a crouching or semi-crouching position, the SUP board is meant to be ridden in a standing posture. Consequently, the SUP boards are generally constructed with a wider and longer body and are therefore, much heavier than the slimmer and lightweight, surf boards.
Traditionally, surf boards, paddle boards, body boards and other such flotation devices which are generally categorized as ‘watercraft’ were constructed from the wood of local trees in Hawaii where these water sports originated and were much heavier to carry than their modern day counterparts which are predominantly constructed using lighter woods such as, Balsa® wood or synthetic materials primarily, polystyrene or polyester foam, covered with layers of fiberglass and epoxy resin for reinforcement. Regardless of the type of material used for the construction of these watercraft, the traditional surf boards and body boards have a narrow body, making it possible for them to be carried under an arm and wrapping the fingers around the opposite rail of the board. This mode of carrying is not possible with the wider-bodied stand up paddle (SUP) boards and other wide-bodied water craft because they are too wide to fit under an arm. Consequently, these watercraft boards have to be carried by hoisting them onto the shoulder or over the head making the task of carrying them more cumbersome, with the potential for back and shoulder injuries. Therefore, there is a need in the art to find an ergonomic carry handle for these wide-bodied watercraft, one which will allow these boards to be carried under the arm effortlessly and comfortably by even women and children without causing injury to the back, shoulders and other parts of the body. Such an ergonomic carry handle for a stand up paddle (SUP) board and other wide-bodied watercraft will also open up the sport of SUP boarding and other wide-bodied water craft sports to a wider audience and make them more appealing to the masses.
Some prior art have attempted to address the issue of providing a means to carry a surf board as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,344 to Savage and U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,551 to Conroy. However, these board carriers require the use of a carry bag for transporting the surf boards. U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. No. 2010/0187274 describes a stand up surf board carrier with hooks to fit around a surf board side edge and a shoulder strap to place over the shoulder of a user. Such a board carrier would require finding a place to store the board carrier itself when the board is in use. U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. No. 2013/0130578 describes a retractable handle for a water craft that requires lifting up the retracted handle using fingers and keeping the handle lifted up and held by fingers to carry the water craft, A major shortcoming of this handle is the potential for its moving parts to get clogged with sand and salt from the ocean water or other debris, leading to the handle getting stuck, un-retractable and malfunctioning.
The present invention of an ergonomic, comfortable and easy to use grip handle for a stand up paddle (SUP) board which can also advantageously be used with a surf board and other similar watercraft boards, overcomes the deficiencies in the above prior art for a carry handle for a water sport board as will become obvious from the embodiment and aspects of the invention described through the summary of the invention and detailed description of the invention, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.